EDUCATOR. LEADER. BUILDER. QUEEN.

“Wherever Black women are all across the globe, the spirit of our work is (re)membering who we are and whose we are.”

“Wherever Black women are all across the globe, the spirit of our work is (re)membering who we are and whose we are.”

(Re)membering the Spiritual Lives of Black Women Educators

(Re)membering the Spiritual Lives of Black Women Educators

The Spirit of Our Work: Black Women Teachers (Re)member highlights the intersectional identities of Black women teachers and how they matter in a teaching life. Dr. Dillard shows us how educational settings might more conscientiously curate necessary structures of support that pay explicit attention to (re)membering not just the mind and body but the spirit of Black women in the work of teaching and teacher education.

“As an education leader, philanthropist, writer and builder, I value four ideas that are critical to (re)membering:

  • A sense of integrity, strong congruence between your talk and your walk
  • A rapt attention to following through, letting our yes mean yes and our no mean no
  • An embrace of Black women’s creativity, of beautiful ways to approach the work of leading, building and educating
  • A strong attention to following our spiritual knowing and being as well as to our intellect and bodies.”

“As an education leader, philanthropist, writer and builder, I value four ideas that are critical to (re)membering:

  • A sense of integrity, strong congruence between your talk and your walk
  • A rapt attention to following through, letting our yes mean yes and our no mean no
  • An embrace of Black women’s creativity, of beautiful ways to approach the work of leading, building and educating
  • A strong attention to following our spiritual knowing and being as well as to our intellect and bodies.”

Educator

Philanthropist

Leader

Author

“Dr. Cynthia Dillard is a waymaker. Her mentorship continues to shift me in ways that I never expected within the academy. From afar, her insistence on living unapologetically in the fullness of her humanity has long been a lighthouse for a young Black woman scholar such as myself. Up close, every opportunity I have had to sit at this woman’s feet felt divinely ordered. So much so that her vulnerability, candor, genius, and love have transformed my life forever.”

Jamila J. Lyiscott, Ph.D, University of Massachusetts Amherst

“Dr. Dillard is truly a phenomenal educator. Each week, I left this class feeling inspired and energized to write. I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn from such an amazing scholar and example. Thank you Dr. D!”

Student

“What a gift to awaken to this lecture/conversation/invitation/awakening. Thank you, Dean Dillard.”

Chat Comment , during Dillard’s 2021 AERA Wallace Lecture

“I truly enjoyed Dr. Dillard! It was evident from day one that she cared about us as students and human beings. I appreciated how she treated the course as a discussion and helped address concerns we had about the writing process. She provided “insider” knowledge not often shared by other academics because she wanted us to be successful. I enjoyed the times we were able to collaboratively analyze pieces of writing together, such as proposals and comps. I also appreciated how you would always elicit our thoughts first before discussing your own so we could feel empowered when doing this work.”

Doctoral Student
“Dr. Dillard’s mentorship has touched many junior scholars and students who were not her formal mentees or advisees. The value of this unpaid labor of a senior Woman of Color Scholar is something that must be acknowledged within the academy. I state unequivocally that the academy would be much less diverse in terms of bodies and thought if it were not for Cynthia Dillard. Many of us would not be here, we would not have survived, without the informal leadership and mentorship of Dr. Dillard.”

Subini Annamma
Stanford University, Author of The Pedagogy of Pathologization: Dis/Abled Girls of Color in the School-prison Nexus

“During Covid-19, ‘Zoom university’ was hard! But Dr. D made us feel like we were together! She exuded the spirit of togetherness. We could see each other literally leaning in towards our screens and longing to be closer. I cannot imagine what it would have been like to be “in person” because this class was so amazing even on zoom.”

Doctoral Student